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This might not be the right forum, but as I can't find enough info elsewhere, I'd like to ask in this community. I'm seriously considering getting an ereader for reading only (not a tablet). I can get a Kindle on amazon.com, whereas Nook cannot be bought online (for my location). However, I can get either of them in London's bookstores (Waterstones, or John Lewis) where I'll be next month.

My main question here is, since these two readers differ in ebook format (kindle or ePub), and I have a feeling that ePub might be more common, is this right? Are ePub books more common? I have an issue with amazon, as I can order only from .com, but not any other (such as co.uk), whereas I think I can order online from other sites (Waterstones, ebooks, Barnes & Noble).

Are there any Kindle/Nook users here to share their experiences with readers and buying different ebook formats?

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I have had my Kindle for exactly one year now and I am more than happy with the device. Many people seem to think that the amazon store is the only possibility to buy new books for the Kindle but that's not true. I use the (free) software Calibre to archive and store my ebooks on my computer and to send new ones to my device. So it is no problem to buy ebooks from other websites, put them in you Calibre library and send them to your Kindle via USB. The software can also convert formats. The Kindle can handle the formats .azw, .txt, .pdf, .mobi, and .prc, I usually convert my ebooks to .mobi if they come in a different format and I had no problems so far.

I have only this one ebook reader, so I can't really contribute anything to the Nook. So far, my experiences with the Kindle have been very positive. The only thing I don't like is buying new books from amazon directly from on Kindle. If you chose an ebook in the store and keep your key pressed slightly too long, you sometimes accidentally purchase the book. You can reverse the process but it is very annoying, especially because my settings on the amazon website are NOT set to allow one click purchases.

If you plan to purchase books from amazon.com, I'd first check if it is even possible from your country. A friend of mine had problems to buy some novels form the Star Wars range, because apparently there a licensing issues sometimes. amazon.de does not offer the full range of novels and he could not purchase the novels from amazon.com even after changing his IP adress to one from the US.

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Well, I want a reader as I only want to read books on it - strange, ha. :classic: From what I understand, tablet is a mini-computer/laptop, and it's not so user friendly for your eyes as is a reader.

I know I can buy kindle books on Amazon.com set to Europe and not USA. On the other hand, Nook has ePub format which is sold at many other bookstores, which is a big plus.

How much hassle is to 'convert' an ePub book to Kindle format? Is it a straight forward process for someone who's not an expert? What about Digital Editions and copyrights? I admit I am confused, that's why I'm asking.

Many people seem to think that the amazon store is the only possibility to buy new books for the Kindle but that's not true. I use the (free) software Calibre to archive and store my ebooks on my computer and to send new ones to my device. So it is no problem to buy ebooks from other websites, put them in you Calibre library and send them to your Kindle via USB. The software can also convert formats. The Kindle can handle the formats .azw, .txt, .pdf, .mobi, and .prc, I usually convert my ebooks to .mobi if they come in a different format and I had no problems so far.

If you plan to purchase books from amazon.com, I'd first check if it is even possible from your country. A friend of mine had problems to buy some novels form the Star Wars range, because apparently there a licensing issues sometimes. amazon.de does not offer the full range of novels and he could not purchase the novels from amazon.com even after changing his IP adress to one from the US.

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I love my Kindle! It's great for reading as it isn't back-lit! I have delicate eyes that are prone to reddening after too much computer use, but Kindles are like real books which is great! Also, in desperate straights, they can access the internet anywhere for free. That saved my life when I was lost in Paris. I say desperate straights though because you'd have to be desperate to use its slow as snail internet connection. It's great for buying books from Amazon, but not for anything else, so don't buy it for the internet. All-in-All, and not having tried any other devises, I love it and would recommend it to anyone.

~Insectoid Aristocrat

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Thanks for answering. The more I google, the more I have a felling that there actually are more ebooks in ePub, but due to my location, I can't buy them. The more I think, Kindle is popular also because you can buy it online and buy kindle books almost regardless of your location. I guess this has answered my questions for the moment, and I'm more in favour of Kindle.

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Redhead, You may want to borrow a friend's Kindle and Nook, and try them for a day.Then you can decide if you like reading eBooks, and select one. It takes a lot of getting used to if you have been reading hard copies for decades. If you travel a lot, one could work well.

I have tried reading books on the original and later Kindles and the iPad, and don't care for them unless I am out of the country and trying to reduce luggage weight. I object to the extremely high prices for books, which often are available in our library or at our used book store. I can recycle those through my friends, which I can't do with an eReader. And I love turning real pages and dropping the book on the floor when I am too tired to get up and gently put away an electronic gadget.

Hope you get a chance to try them out before buying.

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Redhead, You may want to borrow a friend's Kindle and Nook, and try them for a day.Then you can decide if you like reading eBooks, and select one. It takes a lot of getting used to if you have been reading hard copies for decades. If you travel a lot, one could work well.

I have tried reading books on the original and later Kindles and the iPad, and don't care for them unless I am out of the country and trying to reduce luggage weight. I object to the extremely high prices for books, which often are available in our library or at our used book store. I can recycle those through my friends, which I can't do with an eReader. And I love turning real pages and dropping the book on the floor when I am too tired to get up and gently put away an electronic gadget.

Hope you get a chance to try them out before buying.

Allot of the Classic works can be obtained for free on the Kindle. I have the entire works of Darwin, Shakespeare, and Poe free of charge. :purrr:

~Insectoid Aristocrat

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Legogal, I did that. I borrowed a Kindle from a friend, but Nook is impossible to get here. I found more sites selling ePub formats thank Kindle books, and there seems to be more titles in ePub. On better inspection, only one of those sites actually 'sends/ships' ebooks to my location. :-)

I borrow books at library regularly, but the limit is they don't have many new books, as it takes sometime to get translations. This is also one of the reasons I mostly read books in English. I usually buy them at Bookdepository.com, as they have a huge selection of titles. Sometimes I borrow them from friends. I still prefer real 'paper' books, but with two adult LEGO collections, and a huge collection of books (mine and my partner's), storing them is getting close to impossible. However, I still want to read new tittles, and ebooks seem to be a nice solution, and convient for travelling as well.

Redhead, You may want to borrow a friend's Kindle and Nook, and try them for a day.Then you can decide if you like reading eBooks, and select one. It takes a lot of getting used to if you have been reading hard copies for decades. If you travel a lot, one could work well.

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Well, I want a reader as I only want to read books on it - strange, ha. :classic: From what I understand, tablet is a mini-computer/laptop, and it's not so user friendly for your eyes as is a reader.

Full-disclosure; I'm not up on the latest do-dads and you may have a point, particularly if you want to read in the dark or in the bright sunlight but if you have the right reader app (perhaps Kindle isn't the best, it's not my favorite) you can adjust a tablet to make it as comfortable as possible.

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You have a point there. I'm not in favour of a tablet, as I don't really need it - you can do much more on it, but most of those other things, I do on my laptop. I read indoors mostly, and always before going to sleep, I read for at least 30 minutes in bed. I really feel there's simply too much 'gadgets' out there to choose from.

Full-disclosure; I'm not up on the latest do-dads and you may have a point, particularly if you want to read in the dark or in the bright sunlight but if you have the right reader app (perhaps Kindle isn't the best, it's not my favorite) you can adjust a tablet to make it as comfortable as possible.

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Yeah, I haven't had a laptop for years (don't need it for my job and I don't want the trouble of maintaining one) so a tablet was perfect for me. I got the original Samsung tablet (basically a big phone) so the only choice was between it and an iPad at the time. I don't really care for Apple's products as they are a little too controlling about what you install on them.

The really nice thing about a tablet though is that you don't have to worry about what format the book is in as there's an app (usually free or very cheap) to open anything.

If you buy a Kindle or Nook, that's another gadget you have to worry about. You don't like reading on your laptop? I wouldn't buy an eReader to read in bed, it would be great for commuting-type situations though.

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I've had a Kindle for awhile, and like you said the only limitation that comes with it is the fact it can't read .epub formatted files; like Speedboat I just use Calibre to convert stuff I download into .mobi or any other useful files. Haven't tried a Nook before so can't provide any feedback on that.

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What about DRM ePub - from what I was able to find online, it's not easy to convert them to Kindle even with Calibre. Do you have any experience with that, Leo?

I've had a Kindle for awhile, and like you said the only limitation that comes with it is the fact it can't read .epub formatted files; like Speedboat I just use Calibre to convert stuff I download into .mobi or any other useful files. Haven't tried a Nook before so can't provide any feedback on that.

Another question, where do you buy ebooks from? There are some bookstores offering ebooks, but limited to their country. Are there any other internationally oriented e-book selling bookstores with online shopping (other than Amazon)?

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I'm not an expert, but my family buyed an E-reader and we searched for different options; The problem of the Kindle is the format only usable on Kindle and more important, if I'm not mistaken, with the Kindle you don't have the book but only a license to read it and therefore if Amazon closes its subsidiary E-book, you'll stay without books.

Hope to be usefull and haven't complicated things too much :sweet:

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What about DRM ePub - from what I was able to find online, it's not easy to convert them to Kindle even with Calibre. Do you have any experience with that, Leo?

Occasionally; sometimes the formatting gets messed up if that's what you mean.

Another question, where do you buy ebooks from? There are some bookstores offering ebooks, but limited to their country. Are there any other internationally oriented e-book selling bookstores with online shopping (other than Amazon)?

I think http://www.ebooks.com/ is a good one but I've stuck with Amazon and haven't really bought from anywhere else. I also sometimes download books from sharing sites like 4shared.com (usually in .PDF format) and just use Calibre to convert them to .mobi. They're not always readily available but I usually find stuff I want.

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It looks like I'll get one soon. Kindle seems a better choice as I'm living in a country from which you can't buy ebooks from some web stores. :cry_sad:

I have the kindle and I prefer it over the nook.

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I finally got my kindle 2 weeks ago, and I find it very hard to part with. I'm reading Peter James' Roy Grace series, and I love it. It's great for reading in bed before going to sleep, as the problem of getting out of bed to turn the light off doesn't exist anymore. :classic: And it's actually keeping me away from building, which is not so great. :sceptic:

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I finally got my kindle 2 weeks ago, and I find it very hard to part with. I'm reading Peter James' Roy Grace series, and I love it. It's great for reading in bed before going to sleep, as the problem of getting out of bed to turn the light off doesn't exist anymore. :classic: And it's actually keeping me away from building, which is not so great. :sceptic:

Darn, if you were still looking I'd recommend a Nexus 7. Its a great book reader for college and it packs a punch for the price compared to its internal hardware. It supports Kindle and Google Play readers, so it can access both stores.

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I have a kindle,have read atleast 200 books and has been charged twice. They are much nicer than a real book.

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Living out of USA and in continental Europe, not everything is available for purchase. :sceptic: Kindle is a great deal, as it can be bought via Amazon.com. And I really wanted a simple reader, not a tablet, as I have two computers already in the flat.

Darn, if you were still looking I'd recommend a Nexus 7. Its a great book reader for college and it packs a punch for the price compared to its internal hardware. It supports Kindle and Google Play readers, so it can access both stores.

A real (paper) book is still better than an e-book, but there's so many pros for reading e-books. My favourite is definitely that there's no need getting out of bed and fetching a new book af the shelf when one is finished. A new books is just few touches away. :sweet:

I have a kindle,have read atleast 200 books and has been charged twice. They are much nicer than a real book.

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